3 cover stories in our archive
Behind the Covers' archive includes 3 album covers documented under the "lo fi" design theme, spanning the 1990s, 2010s. These covers sit within the alternative, indie, rock, r&b, pop tradition and feature work by Pavement, Neutral Milk Hotel, Frank Ocean. Each entry below includes the cover artwork, the designers and photographers behind it, and a short story about the visual choices that defined the release.
Pavement's breakthrough album features a deceptively simple cover of weathered concrete steps that perfectly captured the band's lo-fi aesthetic. The mundane architectural photograph became an iconic symbol of 1990s indie rock minimalism.
Chris Bilheimer's surreal illustration of a couple floating above the sea with a drum replacing one figure's head — inspired by a vintage postcard — connects to the album's hallucinatory exploration of Anne Frank, innocence, and historical trauma.
The blurred, green-tinted photograph with Ocean's hand partially covering his face reflects the album's core themes: memory, identity, sexual fluidity, and emotional opacity. The lo-fi, anti-commercial quality matched his decision to release independently.